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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. tube — the underground
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. mine — for digging
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. tube — a container
  8. band — a music group
  9. bound — obliged
  10. field — a subject
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. band — a ring
  13. scale — in music
  14. bound — certain
  15. field — for sport
  16. kid — to tease
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. scale — size or range
  19. kid — child
  20. bound — tied together
  21. field — farmland
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — animal skin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com